Jun 17

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Yolo County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Agency and Yolo County fire departments have joined with the PulsePoint Foundation to bring life-saving technology to the region via PulsePoint. The mobile app is designed to increase citizen awareness of cardiac events beyond the traditional “witnessed” area and engage them in potentially life-saving CPR.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States. The American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. However, less than half of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR and even fewer receive a potentially lifesaving therapeutic shock from a public access AED. Improving bystander CPR rates and access to AEDs is critical to the chain of survival, which requires: (1) early recognition of the emergency and phoning 911 for EMS, (2) early bystander CPR, (3) early delivery of a shock via a defibrillator if indicated and (4) early advanced life support and post-resuscitation care delivered by healthcare providers. Different than a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is caused when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions and the heart stops working properly. For every minute that passes without a cardiac arrest victim receiving resuscitation, the chances of that person surviving decrease 10 percent. After only 10 minutes the chances of survival are minimal.

Connected with the Yolo County Emergency 911 Dispatch Center and the UC Davis/City of Davis Dispatch Center, the PulsePoint app alerts CPR-trained bystanders when a sudden cardiac arrest occurs in a public place within a quarter-mile of their immediate vicinity. Users will be able to quickly find the victim and begin CPR immediately while waiting for EMS to arrive. The app also gives detailed instructions and locations of nearby automatic external defibrillators (AEDs).

Kristin Weivoda of the Yolo County EMS Agency added: “I highly encourage all Yolo County residents not only to download this life saving mobile app but also to become CPR certified and learn a skill that could one day save a life.”

The PulsePoint app can be downloaded for free on any mobile device. Additionally there is a PulsePoint AED app, which allows the public to register locations of publicly accessible AEDs. For more information on the PulsePoint apps, visit: http://www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepointrespond/.